Talk of the Town: Cider festival is the apple of city’s eye

AS pub-goers will testify, the cost of a pint in this city isn’t always financially friendly.

So the prospect of a pint for only £2.20 will surely have boozers flocking to watering holes across the Capital as a new cider festival kicks off tomorrow.

The festival – which features traditional ciders, fruit ciders and perries – will take place at pubs including The Standing Order, The Alexander Graham Bell and the Blacksmith’s Forge in Dalkeith.

“Cider is the perfect summer drink and I am certain that people will enjoy our fantastic selection, a number of which are not usually available in the area,” said Archie Denny, manager of The Standing Order.

At £2.20 a pint, they certainly will – maybe a little too much. But at least the next day will bring only pain in the head and not in the pocket.

Make sure you bring us back some sunny weather

IT’S official – we’ve had enough.

In search of summer, the good people of this fine city are escaping our soggy streets and jetting off to sunnier climes.

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for the coming week, but if the word of travel agent Thomas Cook is anything to go by, there will be few people left in the Capital to suffer it.

Spain and Greece are proving popular destinations, with their rainfall slightly lower than the deluge flooding Edinburgh.

Lydia Dearden, from Thomas Cook, said: “We definitely see a rise in bookings as the weather worsens, with our research showing one in five people are influenced to book a holiday by the disappointing weather.”

Going for a Tsonga

MILLIONS of people tuned in to Andy Murray’s run to Sunday’s Wimbledon final, but public health minister Shona Robison clearly wasn’t one of them.

After Andy took a two-sets-to-love lead in Friday’s semi-final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Dundee SNP member tweeted: “Well done @andy_murray and now on to the big one on Sunday.”

But there was still work to be done, particularly after Tsonga claimed the third set, which left Shona having to knock back a few volleys as she soon added: “Bit premature of me I know after bum text steer from “ex” pal but I’m sure @andy_murray will win thru.”

Still, Andy did go on to secure victory before succumbing to Roger Federer in the showpiece, so if Shona could look into her crystal ball and let us know when he will break his Grand Slam duck it would certainly spare his fans a few grey hairs.